Friday, June 26, 2015

Congratulations to all students who have just completed their AFC738 course on Money Laundering and Specialized Frauds at the Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). Besides topics on money laundering, this semester, the course has added other Specialized Frauds which cover offences such as bankruptcy fraud, matrimonial fraud, e-commerce fraud, corruption, identity fraud and insurance. In implementing the students-centred and blended learning approaches, the continuous assessments have required the students to (i) prepare a video on their selected fraud investigation, and (ii) start a blog on their choice of fraud. To add practitioners' input to the course, three speakers have been invited to give lectures. SAC Mohd Noor Firdaus from the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) talked on the legislation Anti-Money Laundering, Anti Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Crime Act (AMLATFAPUA) 2001 and money laundering cases in Malaysia. Tuan Kanakaraja A/L Muthusamy from the Anti Corruption Commission (SPRM) spoke on topics related to corruption, bribery and the Anti-Corruption Act. Mr Mohd Rashid Azahari bin Tan Sri Musa spoke on various topics on specialised frauds such as identity fraud and bankruptcy fraud.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Following the setting up of two tailoring transformation programs in Terengganu, researchers from the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) have been invited recently to meet Kelantan royalty, YM Tengku Puan Temenggong Datuk Tunku Noor Hayati Tengku Abdul Rahman to discuss the establishment of new social transformation programs in Kelantan. ARI was represented by its director Prof Dr Normah Omar, two deputy directors Associate Professor Zuraidah Mohd Sanusi and Associate Professor Dr Jamaliah Said and a research fellow, Dr Norazida Mohamed. YM Tengku Puan Temenggong brought with her, three associates: Puan Sharifah Rahayu, Puan Jamaayah Che Ros and Cik Liyana Malik. As the prospective programs will be established and conducted in Kelantan, ARI will be outsourcing some experts from Universiti Teknologi MARA Kelantan campus. As such, the Rector of UiTM Kelantan, Dato' Mohd Helmi and a research Datin Faizah have also been invited to participate in the discussions. YM Tengku Puan Temenggong is keen to set up a Foundation - YANAS that will be used as a platform to source for funding. Based on ARI's previous experiences, the specific group to focus for the transformation program will be single mothers who are currently registered with KEMAS. To date, KEMAS is involved in facilitating the community in many activities such as tailoring, education, food, batik and souveniers. Following this initial meeting, the process to register YANAS will commence, Once the meeting with KEMAS is held, the preparation for a signing of MoU between ARI and YANAS will be arranged. We at ARI look forward to another successful and impactful venture.

Monday, June 15, 2015

The Tailoring Transformation Islamic Microfinance in Terengganu involve four strategic partners: (1) The tailoring entrepreneurs themselves who are the main players- currently, there are 20 of them working in two separate centres in Paka and Kuala Terengganu. The groups target to produce 1500 pairs of baju kurung during this fasting month. (2) Sultan Mizan Royal Foundation (YDSM) acts as a financier to the transformation program. Alternatively, financing for the program can also be sourced from other agencies such as microfinance companies (Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia - AIM and Tekun), State Islamic Council, Zakat Centre and Banks. As a financier for this transformation program, YDSM provides sewing machines and other necessary supplies to the entrepreneurs. Two buildings have been identified to be used by the women entrepreneurs for their tailoring operations. (3) Mydin Mohamed Berhad supplies fabrics and buys the finished goods from the entrepreneurs. Essentially, the responsibility to sell the products to the consumers rest with Mydin Mohamed Holding Berhad. (4) ARI/UiTM as a research centre, coordinates the activities, provides fundamental training in financial management and financial reporting for the entrepreneurs and record pertinent information as research data. At ARI, a specific research cluster, namely Islamic Microfinance Group has been set up to monitor progress and to measure impact of the program on the entrepreneurs' quality of life and socio-economic status. In the long run, ARI hopes to replicate this initiative to other states in Malaysia.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Today marks an important event in the history of Accounting Research Institute (ARI) when it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Sultan Mizan Royal Foundation (YDSM) in Kuala Terengganu. The MoU signing ceremony signifies a strategic collaboration between ARI a Higher Institution's Centre of Excellence (HICoE) from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) to embark on a "Socio-Economy Transformation Program" (SETP). Basically SETP is a pilot Islamic Microfinance program in Terengganu involving twenty women enterpreneurs who are pursuing a Baju Kurung (Malaysian national dress) tailoring business. The two transformation centres that

Launching of HICoE : ARI Recognized as a HICoE at PICC on 1st April 2010

A Proud Moment for ARI Members

A group photo taken at the Putrajaya Convention Centre (PICC), right after the launching of six Higher Institutions' Centres of Excellence

Driving a Research Niche in Islamic Financial Criminology

As a HICoE, the Accounting Research Institute focuses on a niche research area in Islamic Financial Criminology (IFC). In essence, IFC can be further subdivided into two research thrusts: Islamic Accounting & Muamalat and Financial Criminology. Though each research area can stand on its own, IFC aspires to support Malaysia's vision of becoming a leading and global Islamic Finance hub. Through basic and applied research, IFC integrates useful Islamic principles and concepts in achieving potential deliverables such as:1. New Research Products in Islamic Accounting & Muamalat2. New Research Products in Islamic Finance and Investment3. New policy/framework in Financial Criminology4. Integrating Islamic Principles to mitigate financial fraud5. Developing Financial Fraud Indicators and Typologies6. NPO Governance, AML/CFT and Corporate Integrity

Moving Beyond Numbers

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) is one of the six centres of excellence (HiCoE) recognized by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) Malaysia. Currently ARI's fundamental research is in the area of Islamic Financial Criminology. Since its formation in 2003, ARI has evolved from a small SIG to a MOHE HICoE. Today ARI coordinates eight research centres that have been co-established with various national and international professional agencies: CIMA-UiTM Asian Management Accounting Research Centre (AMARC); UiTM-MICG Corporate Governance Research Centre (CGRC); UiTM-ACCA Financial Reporting Research Centre (FCRC); UiTM-ACFE Asia-Pacific Forensic Accounting Research Centre (AFARe); UiTM-CPA Australia Public Sector Accounting Research Centre; UiTM-ACCA Asia-Pacific Sustainability Research Centre (APCeS), Government-Linked Companies Research Centre (GLCRC)and Islamic Accounting and Muamalat Research Centre (IAMRC).